"The Hong Kong market could easily pull back a bit from here," acknowledged Richard Margolis, a regional strategist at Merrill Lynch here.

"However strong our system is, we can't insulate ourselves from the storm elsewhere," said Richard Margolis, regional strategist at Merrill Lynch & Company in Hong Kong.

"I don't think this guarantees we're out of the woods," said Dan Fineman, a regional strategist at J. P. Morgan Chase in Singapore.

"There is a very large pipeline, which has contributed to the market's fragility," said Richard Margolis, a regional strategist at Merrill Lynch & Company in Hong Kong.

"Look at our trade account," said Ajay Kapur, the regional strategist for the Union Bank of Switzerland in Hong Kong.

"There is still currency tension in the region," said Pauline Gately, regional strategist for BZW Asia.

Christopher Wood, a regional strategist at Santander Investment Securities in Hong Kong, observed that Indonesia's recovery began only after President Suharto resigned.

"He's right to say that Thailand shouldn't rely on foreigners," said Christopher Wood, a regional strategist at ABN Amro in Hong Kong.

"Even if you leave Indonesia out, other economies are bleeding," said Nilesh Jasani, regional strategist at SocGen-Crosby Securities in Singapore.

"The key thing is foreigners don't believe it will hold," said Russell Napier, the regional strategist at Credit Lyonnais here.